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Shell's Pipeline Near Awoba Flow Station Attacked by Nigerian Militants

05-27-2008

An oil pipeline belongs to Royal Dutch Shell was attacked in southern Nigeria on Monday, according to government sources.

"There has been an explosion at a facility owned by Shell near Awoba flow station, " said Sagir Musa, military spokesman in Nigeria's River State.

The movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) took responsibility for the blast at the facility.

An email statement sent by MEND to the media said the attack had taken place at 1 a.m. local time on Monday, backed by heavily armed fighters, detonation engineers from the group.

According to the statement, the militants have "successfully sabotaged another major trunk pipeline at Awoba Flow Station in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company".

The statement asserted that the group's fighters also killed eleven soldiers encountered in the crossfire short after the pipeline attack, collecting their weapons, ammunition's and bullet-proof vests before using dynamite to sink the gunboat with its dead occupants.

"Today's attack is dedicated to the administration of Umaru Yar' Adua and Goodluck Jonathan who have failed after one year in office to ensure peace, security and reconciliation in the Niger Delta region," said the statement.

A Shell spokesman in Nigeria said the company is investigating the MEND story, could not make any comments by now.

Due to rampant attacks on oil facilities and kidnappings of foreigners in oil-producing Niger Delta region since the beginning of 2006, Nigeria's oil production has been crippled and experienced a shut-in by 25 percent compared with its peak daily crude output of 2.6 million barrels.